Biostimulants for sustainable transformation of agri-food production system: evidence from field experiments

Worldwide, the sustainability of agri-food production systems is increasingly threatened by the degradation of natural resources, including land and water, loss of biodiversity, and environmental pollution resulting from unsustainable farming practices, such as excessive and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, lack of crop rotations, and climate change. Biostimulants have emerged as a new class of potential measures to address these challenges. This study has conducted a meta-analysis of existing experimental studies on biostimulants in India, quantifying their effects on crop yield, product quality, soil fertility, and carbon sequestration. The findings indicate that biostimulants improve crop yield by 15.84%, with seaweed extracts having the highest effect (17%), followed by humic and fulvic acids (15%) and amino acids (10%). The yield advantage is more pronounced in vegetables, followed by pulses, cereals, and oilseeds. Biostimulants contribute to sustainability of agriculture by enhancing soil organic carbon by approximately 13% and nutrient availability by 6%. The economic value of ecosystem services associated with biostimulants is estimated at USD 1009 per hectare for horticultural crops and US$ 155 for field crops. These findings suggest that integrating biostimulants into farming practices can improve the sustainability of agri-food production systems and farmers’ income.